Visa D & Residence Permit in Bulgaria by Property Purchase
The obtaining of a residence permit in Bulgaria (long stay permit or permanent stay permit) by foreign citizens could be realized on more than legal 20 grounds. One of the most preferred is the purchase of a real estate property in Bulgaria.
The main requirement in this legal procedure is the person who applies for residency to be retired - pension insured and receiving pension. The receiving of a pension legally doesn`t have anything in common with Bulgaria except the fact that the pension will be physically received in Bulgaria (where the respective foreign citizen resides). In this regard foreign laws which refer to the retirement and pensions in relevant countries are completely applicable. For example it is possible in Bulgaria certain category of workers or employees to retire at the age of 60 years but in other countries this to happen at the age of 50 or 40 years. In such situation a foreigner who has retired in his own country at the age of 40 or 50 is treated as a pensioner on the territory of Bulgaria and he has full right to apply for residency in Bulgaria.
The second precondition for applying for Bulgarian visa type D and for residence permit afterwards is purchasing a property in Bulgaria where the respective foreign pensioner will live. Purchasing a property is not actually legal condition for granting visa D and long stay permit or permanent stay permit but this is a standard practice which increases the chances of obtaining residency. It is quite economically logical that if a foreign pensioner has the financial potential to buy property and receive his pension in Bulgaria where he would live - then he would not be a burden to the Bulgarian state but would even stimulate its economy by investing in real estate purchase and paying property taxes.
Technically the purchase of a real estate can take place before the visa D application has been filed. It is possible for a foreigner to arrive in Bulgaria and buy a property with visa type C (tourist visa) and afterwards to return back to his country and apply for visa D. In Bulgaria it is legally impossible to get long stay or permanent stay residency permit if Bulgarian visa D has not been granted before that.
According to a recent practice in Bulgaria adults who have received residency under this procedure live during most of their time in Bulgaria and their children or relatives come to Bulgaria for a couple of weeks or months on holiday - especially if it comes to mountain or seaside resort properties. If they are young enough (under legal age), children of retired foreigners can easily obtain residence permit only on the grounds that their parents (or at least one of them) already have such permit. Spouses of persons who have obtained residence permit also have the right to use this privilege, no matter how old they are.
After obtaining a residence permit foreigners have to stay (live) in Bulgaria at least 6 months and 1 day every year, otherwise they are risking their permissions to be taken away. This is not mandatory and is left at the discretion of Bulgarian authorities - but always there are foreigners who do not meet this requirement and at the same time keep their residence permits.
